Force Composition
Force Composition describes both the assets and the organizational structure of any fighting force - how many men it contains, what equipment they have, and how command and communications work between them all. In each Mission, each Side of players a unique Force Composition tailored specifically to the Scenario being played. Force Compositions can vary wildly between Sides, and between Missions, although there are plenty of basic rules that show up again and again. Learning this basics is a good way to understand what is going on in any given Video, both tactically and strategically. Infantry This section lists different units comprised entirely out of Infantrymen - fighting and moving mostly on foot, with little or no direct vehicle support. Infantry Fireteam The Infantry Fireteam is the smallest and most basic organizational unit for Infantry in ShackTac. Each Infantry Fireteam contains 6 players, including a Fireteam Leader (FTL) and five infantrymen carrying a variety of infantry-based weapons, mostly Small Arms, and often also Anti-Tank Launchers. The Fireteam is subordinated to a Squad, which usually contains 2 such Fireteams. Fireteam'''s are given numbers as their callsigns: "One", "Two", and on rare occasions also "Three". When a Fireteam needs to be identified with more precision, its callsign will be preceded with the name of the '''Squad to which it belongs, e.g. "Alpha Two", "Charlie One", etcetera. Infantry Squad A Squad is a collection of Infantry Fireteams operating together under a single commander - the Squad Leader (SL). The Squad works as a single cohesive unit, with all of its Fireteams working together towards a single immediate tactical goal - moving to a location, attacking a target, defending a position, and so on. In addition to the 6 players in each Fireteam, the Squad also contains a separate Command Element, which includes only the Squad Leader and Squad Medic. A "baseline" Squad containing 2 Fireteams therefore has 6+6+2 = 14 men in total. Squads are subordinate to a Platoon, which is the largest unit seen in the majority ShackTac videos. Each Platoon usually contains at least two Squads. Though two or more Squads can operate together to achieve an immediate tactical goal, each Squad usually operates on its own, with other Squads providing cover from a distance or engaged in their own tasks. Thus, a Squad is significantly more autonomous than a Fireteam. Each Squad is given a name from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, based on its position in the Platoon. The first Squad in 1st Platoon is called "Alpha", the second is "Beta", the third is "Charlie", and so on. (Note: This rule changes more often than others.) Weapon Team A Weapon Team is a small Infantry unit that carries and operates a specialty weapon - such as a Machine Gun or a powerful Anti-Tank Launcher. This unit can be very powerful, but only against specific kinds of threats. It will be moved to engage such threats when they appear. However, the Weapon Team itself is small, and is not equipped to engage in face-to-face combat with most targets. It is thus more vulnerable than an Infantry Fireteam. Each Weapon Team is comprised of three soldiers: One to carry and operate the team's primary weapon; One to carry extra ammunition for that weapon; And a third to provide security and/or carry a Tripod. The soldier operating the primary weapon is generally also in command of the unit. All three soldiers carry rifles as their personal weapons. There are five different types of Weapon Teams in ShackTac. They are differentiated by which weapon they are operating: * [[Medium Machine Gun Team|'Medium Machine Gun Team']] (MMG): The MMG is a rapid-firing automatic weapon that can devastate enemy Infantry and Light Vehicles, and can be used to provide a lot of effective covering fire for other Infantry units. * [[Medium Anti-Tank Team|'Medium Anti-Tank Team']] (MAT): This unit carries a Medium Anti-Tank Launcher, which can reliably penetrate enemy Armor. * [[Heavy Machine Gun Team|'Heavy Machine Gun Team']] (HMG): The HMG is an even more powerful automatic weapon. It is heavy enough to engage not only infantry and vehicles, but also Armored Cars and Helicopters. * [[Heavy Anti-Tank Team|'Heavy Anti-Tank Team']] (HAT): This unit carries a Heavy Anti-Tank Launcher. This is a wire-guided missile system that is extremely effective against armor, particularly Tanks and other heavy vehicles. It can even engage some Helicopters effectively. * [[Mortar Team|'Mortar Team']] (MOR): A Mortar is a small artillery piece firing medium-caliber shells. It fires in a high arc, so the shells take time to land, but when they do they can pulverize infantry very easily. The mortar is heavy and extremely ineffective at close range, so it will usually stay well behind other units. A Weapon Team's codename is marked in (bold) above. If there are two teams of the same type, they will be referred to by codename and number, e.g. "MAT 1" and "MAT 2", etc. All Weapon Teams on the same Side may be collectively referred to as a single group by the codename "Weapons", a term that could also refer to an appointed liaison who speaks for all Weapon Teams as a group. In the case of heavier teams (HMG, HAT, MOR), the weapon itself must be assembled on a Tripod prior to use, and disassembled to become mobile again. The third infantryman in the unit will usually have to carry this Tripod. Units with heavy weapons are far less mobile, and will often be very slow moving from place to place. Therefore, they'll tend to look for a good position and stick with it for some time. In most cases, Weapon Teams are subordinated directly to a Platoon, alongside the Infantry Squads. Under normal circumstances, each Weapon Team has the same level of autonomy as a Squad. Infantry Platoon The Infantry Platoon is a collection of several Squads (and possibly Weapon Teams) operating together under a single commander - the Platoon Leader (PLT). A Platoon is often large enough to take strategic goals into consideration, and will utilize its squads to achieve those goals - either working separately (to achieve multiple goals simultaneously) or together (to focus their strength on a single goal). The Platoon contains at least two Squads, and will very often contain three, especially in CoOp missions. Four is much rarer. In addition, a Platoon contains a separate Command Element called Platoon Headquarters (PLT HQ) which includes the Platoon Leader, the Platoon Sergeant (and/or FAC), and the Platoon Medic. This is not a combat unit, and will (usually) refrain from engaging in direct combat with the enemy. In total, a normal Platoon contains 20+20+20+3 = 63 players. However this is subject to a lot of change during the mission, as soldiers die and may (rarely) rejoin the Platoon as reinforcements. Furthermore, any light vehicular support units might be subordinated to a Platoon, increasing the count further. If a mission features more than a single Platoon on one Side, and/or some other significant support element such as Armor or heavy Aircraft, then all of these units together will likely be subordinated to a Company. The Company is normally the largest possible organizational unit in ShackTac. When two or more Platoons are featured, they will be referred to as "1st Platoon", "2nd Platoon", and so on. Infantry Company An Infantry Company is the largest unit size found in Infantry-oriented ShackTac videos. Commanded by a high-ranking officer, this unit is the highest on the Chain of Command, and thus controls all other units on its Side. The Infantry Company will often be comprised of two Infantry Platoons, one or more Weapon Teams, a Logistics unit for resupply, and often some CAS assets for support and/or large Helicopter Transports for movement into and out of the combat zone. The Infantry Company is commanded by a Company Commander (COY) of middle officer rank. The COY Commander is part of a separate unit called Company HQ (COY HQ), together with the Company Executive Officer (COY XO), Company Medic, and a FAC or other liaison to the non-infantry units included in the Company. COY HQ is not a combat unit, and will do its best to stay well out of Altogether, a Company may include upwards of 100 men. This is limited only by the technical constraints of ArmA, and the player turnout for the mission. There have never been occurrences of two Companies in the same mission, so there is no callsign for the Company as a whole (other than "the company"). Mechanized Infantry